Wednesday, June 15, 2011

First of all if you have not seen the latest from Down Goes Brown, please check it out. Great stuff.

Game seven of the Stanley Cup is about as big as it gets in hockey with the possible exception of the gold medal game at the Olympics, and like all big events its hard to describe without resorting to cliches. Anything can happen tonight and all that has happened previously will have no bearing on it.

Luongo could get a shutout and Thomas might get shelled.

Kesler could score three goals or the winner might come off of the stick of Adam McQuaid, a good Island boy.

It could be a blowout or a nailbiter.

I remember watching a World Series game seven many many years ago between the Cards and the Royals (that tells you how long ago it was). It had been a terrific series and in game six a famous blown umpire's call denied the Cards victory. Game seven came and the Cardinals' starter and best pitcher John Tudor got blown out early and Juaquin Andujar, who came on in relief became completely unravelled, melting down and getting tossed out along with the Cards' manager. The result was a Kansas City landslide victory. It was the last thing anyone expected.

Its unlikely that this happens tonight although one has to wonder what happens if the Bruins score a couple early. Vigneault will have a very short leash I would think as Luongo certainly doesn't make it easy on himself. This really is it for him. A win in which he plays a big part would erase the reputation he has, a reputation which can be disputed, although meltdowns like the one in game six certainly don't help his cause.

A loss and one can only imagine the repercussions.

What do I think will happen? I have no idea. My guess is that it will be close and low scoring, just as all of the games in Vancouver have been so far. If Edler and Alberts are hurting at all, which I believe is the case, then Boston can probably generate more offence then they did in game five, when they had few scoring chances. And the loss of Raymond is going to hurt as well. Hansen may get moved up but then the third line, which has been very effective at times, will suffer. Even though Boston has gone without Horton there is no doubt that the Canucks have lost the battle of attrition. Boston lost this battle last year and it knocked them out of the playoffs. They added depth this year and right now they are the deeper club up front and on the back end.

By planning a parade a few days early Vancouver may have offended the hockey gods but as we know there is no such thing. Just look to 2006 for proof of that. There's no such thing as a team or a city or a country deserving to win unless its Canada playing hockey at the Olympics. So no need to worry about karma here, a good thing if you're Max Lapierre or Alex Burrows.

So it won't be karma. And it possibly won't be the better team tonight or the best team from the season, something which Vancouver undoubtedly earned.

And it won't be momentum whcih Boston has right now and the Canucks can earn back in their first shift. And it won't be history, with each team carrying around forty years of it on their backs. Or leadership or guts or desire because each team has these qualities in great amounts.

Its as simple as which team outscores the other. Cut through all the other crap and that's what it gets down to.

Did I mention that it definitely won't be karma? I hope I did because karma most definitely will have nothing to do with it.

This is true gut check time. There are no tomorrows so this should be a game. Schedule cleared. Cell phone off.

I don't care who wins I just want some jump by both teams. If the Nucks lose OMG they will say it was conspiracy. If they win the fans will be unbearable. But alas.. my darkside would like to see 4-3 game with a flukey goal in 2nd OT.

It will gut the team fans that loses.. As an Oiler fan we have been to Game 7 and had to bear the consequences

Sittin here, to nervous to eat or drink. I bet this feeling is common in the cities of Vancouver and Boston tonight. I'm hopin that tonight Thomas cracks a bit, the couple of posts and goals last game seemed to show a little chink in the armor. Or so I hope. Lou's legacy defined tonight, win and forever in, lose and he's back in Tampa or Florida within 24 months. - Billy -

I'm sure it would have to be some bigger contract comin back. Lou's family still lives in Florida and there has to be a permanent solution made there. Maybe lecavlier back? I don't know, I'm crushed right now. Thanks for the sympathy, I know the oil went through this a few years back and probably felt like this. - Billy- Ps- gillis has some work ahead, I read somewhere that Weber had mentioned van as a destination. Ehrhoff and Salo are off the books along with samuelsson. Although I take Salo back if he comes cheaper.

Salo is a helluva player. I think that got lost somewhere over the years since he was battling injuries for so long.

I just don't see a team like Tampa or Florida trading for Luongo. Goalies are relatively cheap these days and you can always seemingly find a good one in free agency like Vokoun and Bryzgalov this year.

There's no need for Tampa to swap contracts and lose a solid centre like Lecavalier (who's playing defensively as well now, who knew!). Better for teams to just go the Detroit and Chicago model of having a solid affordable goalie.

I think Vancouver is pretty much stuck with Lou. It's too bad really. He's a good goalie, and I think he'll unfairly get the blame for the loss, when it was on the whole team really. Game 6 was the only one he probably cost them.

And we see the guy who guaranteed the W finish -4, Luongo letting in a goal that he described as an "easy save" only a few days ago, and to top it all off Boston seals the game on a Bergeron breakaway that only happened because of a bounce off a stanchion at the opposite end of where they got Bieksa's bounce.

Thank god Karma had nothing to do with it; instead I'll just revel in the irony :)

After not posting last Friday, I'm ashamed to admit that I doubted in the Black Dog's purpose.

I see now that he ordained a Game 7 drama and a loss for the Canucks on their home ice in front of their fans. The arrangement for a cup presentation in a Canadian city for the booing of the Bettman was inspiring.

Note that the Black Dog is also merciful, and having given the Vancouver fans a chance at redemption they seized it, cheering their team's accomplishments in the loss, booing the Bettman heartily, and cheering the Bruins players.

Well, last night was one of the shittiest of my life. Watched the dream die, and then watched our city's assholes destroy all the goodwill and fun that was Vancouver over the last 2 months. I sat on my basement stunned til 2 in the morning, and today feel like I'm hung over even though I had a couple beers. The season was a success, but this ones gonna hurt for a while.The real Vancouver has stepped up already, and I'm hopin that every one of those hooligan pricks gets nailed. This could still turn out to be a great deterrent for future riots if they use the camera footage successfully to convict these people. Anyways on to next year. - Billy -